Fall 2006

E 322 • Siberia in the Russian Imagination: Literature and Anthropology

Course Description

Even after the break-up of the Soviet Union, the country now known as the Russian Federation remains a multi-ethnic state. Siberia inthe Russian Imagination is an interdisciplinary exploration of the complex interactions between Russians and the various native peoples of Siberia over the past century through texts drawn from fiction, autobiographical writing, and anthropological scholarship that chart this vast and complex terrain. The course will also view and discuss Kurosawa's classic film Dersu Uzala as part of the discussion of the work on which it was based. Throughout the course we will consider the comparative perspective of the literatures of the American West and the Australian Outback.

Grading Policy

Short Essay/Rewrite (5 pages/rewrite 5 pages) 20%
Long Essay (10-12 pages) 40%
Thesis statement and outline (2 pages)
In-Class Essays (1-3 pages each) 20%
Informed Participation/Class Discussion (including email submission of commentary/insights on weekly/biweekly assignments) 20%

Texts

Bruce Grant, In the Soviet House of Culture
V. K. Arseniev, Dersu the Trapper
Vladimir Korolenko, Makar's Dream
Valentin Rasputin, Farewell to Matyora
Varlam Shalamov, Kolyma Tales
Sharon Dirlam, Beyond Siberia, Two Years in a Forgotten Place

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